For the Bligh and Dyer method, 20 mL of the microalgal sample was mixed with a 75 mL mixture of chloroform–methanol (1:2 v/v) using a magnetic stirrer at 300 rpm for 10 min. Then 25 mL of chloroform and 25 mL of distilled water were added to form a two phase system.The phases were separated by 5 min centrifugation at 3500 rpm. The chloroform phase was then separated (after carefully transferring the mixture to a separatory funnel) and the solvent was evaporated using a rotary evaporator. Finally, the amount of lipid obtained from each sample was measured after further drying overnight in an oven at 70 °C.